Shorts Bourbon Barrel Sustenance Black Beer

Brewed by Shorts Brewing Co.
Style: Schwarzbier
Bellaire, Michigan USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Appearance: dark cola brown with a light brown bubbly head, syrupy legs, and minimal lace. Aroma: very boozy, with notes of roasty malt, smoky leather, coffee, and dark chocolate. Taste: toffee, caramel, vanilla, and dark chocolate up front, over roasty malts, wood, and a slowly building boozy note. Finish: the alcohol burn crests slowly and is the last to fade. Notes: Seems big, rich, and boozy, even with the low abv. Clearly the barrel-aging played a major role in the development of this one. Definitely a sipper. Would have liked to try it against the regular version to compare. On tap at Birch & Barley. .

Bottle. Poured a dark brown color, relatively translucent still, not a bunch of head - mostly wispy off-white. Aroma was caramel, sweet roasted malts, vanilla notes, bourbon notes. Flavor was smooth bourbon, vanilla notes, with notes of wood and sweet toasted malts.

Ar: Bourbon, rum, raisins, and a bit of toffee. Ap: Black with brown highlights - small tan head with poor retention, settling to a spotty lace. T: Sweet raisins and rum up front - transitions into boozy alcohol and some earthiness - bitterness is low, but there is a very rough tannic quality - ashy on the finish P: Medium body with medium carbonation - finish is dry. O: There are some interesting flavors here, but the alcohol heat and harsh tannins are just too prominent and compromise the better qualities.

#1490 bottle; Nose Is heavy vanilla, smoke note, oak, coffee whiff, earth, later leather, feel is quite watery, carb is mediumlow, taste is iron, some rotten fruit, soy, kale, coffee, wood chip, vanilla

Bottle from the anniversary party. Pours dark with little head. Aroma is rich with bourbon and is pleasant. The taste starts and ends with bourbon. It is there throughout the drink, but isn't overwhelming. They took a good beer and made it better. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottled . Pours clear dark chess nut brown with a large off-white head. Fair lacing. Nose of toasted malt chocolate and caramel. Sweet flavor with, dark malt, berries, caramel and smoked notes.

12th July 2009
Cloudy dark brown beer. Dry crisp palate. Mmm bit sour this - like a very sour Porter. Unsweet wood provides dryness. A splash of bourbon adds to the sourness. Finishes tangy and dry. Dissapointing beer from Shorts (who I love). Too dry and sour with nothing to balance.

Bottle from "hannont". Colour...very dark brown. Nose...burnt cotton candy! Palate... A quick burst of violets, then lots of sappy oak and Bourbon with more burnt sugar/ cotton candy.

Bottled . Pours clear dark chess nut brown with a large off-white head. Fair lacing. Nose of toasted malt chocolate and caramel. Sweet flavor with, dark malt, berries, caramel and smoked notes. Medium bodied, watery to creamy texture and soft carbonation. End up dry with a little malt bitterness. Pretty good for a schwartz beer.

Bottle, thanks to Sarro, 03/01/2012. Pours rich, deep brown, thin tan head fades to splotchy surface haziness, fine lacing rings the glass. Rich aroma, buttery caramel with sweet chocolate fudge, vanilla, prominent bourbon profile, light roasted black malts on the end . Taste does not match for me, a lactic tartness throughout, with bitter caramel, sweet roasted malts, stale woody aftertaste. What was buttery in the aroma perhaps indicative of beginnings of infection, a shame.